329,636 Shares in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 329,636 Safe Bulkers shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $2.08 million and representing about 0.32% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 21.69% of Safe Bulkers.
• Safe Bulkers reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, exceeding estimates of $0.22, while revenue reached $87.47 million versus expectations of $77.50 million.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.30 and a 3.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $6.00 target price.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 329,636 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,080,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.32% of Safe Bulkers as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 77.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,917 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 189.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,404 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 8,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 20,918 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SB opened at $8.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.21. The company has a market cap of $869.12 million, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.82. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a twelve month low of $4.14 and a twelve month high of $9.31.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.The company had revenue of $87.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Safe Bulkers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio is 38.46%.

Safe Bulkers Profile

Safe Bulkers, Inc is a dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates ocean-going vessels used to transport bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international maritime trade in cargoes such as coal, grain, iron ore, fertilizers and other raw materials and construction-related products.

Founded in 2007, the company operates a fleet that includes dry bulk vessel classes such as panamax, kamsarmax, ultramax and supramax ships. Safe Bulkers provides transportation services to customers around the world, with vessels trading on international routes and calling at ports across major global shipping regions.

Safe Bulkers is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Polys Hajioannou, who has been associated with the company since its establishment.

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